


Sowing Season

by SeventhStrife



Series: AUideas Advent Calendar: 2016 [2]
Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: M/M, Murder, dark!AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-05
Updated: 2016-12-05
Packaged: 2018-09-06 17:12:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8761906
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SeventhStrife/pseuds/SeventhStrife
Summary: “Murder in the Dark” AU
  
  
  During a high-spirited game of Manhunt in a large building, Characters A, B, C, D, E, & F all separate in an attempt to find the best hiding spot and become the victor. While the others scatter, Characters B & D sneak off to a closet for some alone time together, but just before they kiss…Character A screams bloody murder.


A boring work seminar turns out to be anything but.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I'm so bad at following the prompt...

“You seem uncomfortable.” Sephiroth’s voice was barely more than a murmur, but Cloud heard it nonetheless. His blank expression didn’t shift, but the annoyance was clear in Cloud’s reply.

“Do I? I wonder why.”

Not too far down, a woman talked, smiling widely and gesturing enthusiastically.

“Once I change my perspective and approached things from  _ their  _ point of view, I suddenly understood, and could then approach my co-worker from an empathetic standpoint and work towards a more positive, effective result. By using these techniques—”

Cloud repressed a sigh, tuning out the words. He hadn’t been sure what to expect from a Shin-Ra mandated culture seminar, but he didn’t think it would be so  _ boring.  _ The theme of the seminar was moods and how they affected others in the workplace. It was torture.

They had to meet somewhere outside of the Shin-Ra building for it, to cultivate a sense of informality, so they were in an unused classroom of the nearby university. The seats were staggered, so Cloud had to look down at the representative teaching them proper meditation techniques and better word-choices for tense work situations.

So far, there hadn’t been a ‘Get to Know You’ segment, but Cloud knew it was coming, he dreaded more than any of his most grueling mission around the planet.

Five minutes in, his eyes had developed a glaze and it was all he could do to keep from yawning. The only thing that kept his from nodding off was his utter discomfort with the thought of being so vulnerable in a room filled with people he disliked.

In all honesty, while a lot of the speech was ridiculous hand-holding nonsense about seeing everyone you meet as a new potential best friend and being in a constant state of aggressive happiness at work, it wasn’t all bad. There were some good point sprinkled throughout the lecture that kept it from being so unrealistic.

If it weren’t for this particular group of people being lectured, Cloud almost would have expected Shin-Ra to actually become a better place to work at.

Shin-Ra only gave the best  _ to  _ their best, and as such, the only people at the seminar were the upper echelons of the company. 

If Cloud weren’t a prisoner as well, he might have appreciated such an expensive, wasted effort on the most corrupt and selfish members on Shin-Ra’s payroll.

Cloud glanced a row down, at Reeve Tuesti.  _ With one exception,  _ he amended.

“It’s not much longer,” Sephiroth said. He pitched his voice low enough that only someone with SOLDIER hearing could hear him. Cloud responded in kind.

“I don’t belong here.” The other’s had made it clear the moment had stepped on the transport, greeted by sneers and looks of irritation. Of course, Sephiroth had been right behind him, so no one breathed a word of complaint. But Cloud knew, and he didn’t want to be here any more than they wanted him to be.

“I want you here.”

“I know.” Cloud glanced at Sephiroth, catching those green eyes with his own. “You just didn’t want to suffer alone.”

Sephiroth didn’t break out into a smile or anything quite so  _ pedestrian,  _ but Cloud could read the subtle nuances of amusement on his face. “Indeed.”

“Okay!” The sudden  _ crack  _ of hands clapping together brought their attention forward once more. “With that, I think it’s time for our first activity.”

_ Activity.  _ Cloud wanted to groan.

“Everyone is familiar with the Manhunt game, yes?” Reluctant nods from around the room, and none too few eyerolls that were viciously ignored. “Great! Now, this may seem like a silly game for children, but by engaging in it fully you’ll see your co-worker in a new, relaxed setting that will work wonders for your ever-evolving relationship. They’ll seem more approachable in the future, and you’ll have a common frame of reference when you look back on this day. 

“Now! I will give you all five minutes before you start and... _ you,”  _ She pointed at Scarlet, “will be the hunter, okay?”

“Goody,” Scarlet said. Her voice was so icy Cloud could feel the chill from across the room.

Their lecturer only continued to smile brightly and Cloud had to commend her strength. She made a show of looking at her watch. “The only rules are that you keep to the rooms in this hallway when you look for a place to hide. And your time starts now!”

No one jumped up and tore for the door with excitement. Several of the others stood with low groans and noisy pops as their bones shifted after sitting in one position for so long. It was clear everyone was treating this as a well-deserved break rather than a bonding exercise. Cloud had a feeling several of them were going to simply going to find a convenient place to sleep, if they didn’t simply just leave.

Breathing was easier once they were out in the hallway. They waited until everyone else had left the room—Cloud ignored Heidegger's disparaging stare and the oily one from Hojo—before exchanging a look. 

Cloud arched a brow. Sephiroth curved a finger to his chin. 

“We passed a storage room at the end of the hall on our way here.”

“Okay…”

“It would be a simple matter to hide there until the coast was clear and leave.”

A startled smile teased Cloud’s features and he crossed his arms.

“Really?  _ You  _ want to skip out? Since when are you such a rebel?”

Sephiroth gave him a frank stare. “This class is useless and ineffective seeing as how no one is taking it seriously and it is clearly something the President is forcing his subordinates to participate in so that he has something to add for tax exemptions. This is a waste of time.”

Cloud was all but grinning by the end of the speech. While there was no love lost between Sephiroth and the company, it was rare to hear him speak ill of it. And near so many of the executives too!

“Okay, yeah. We’ll go with your plan.”

“Not now,” Sephiroth held out an arm to keep Cloud from progressing. He jerked his head down to where Palmer and Heidegger were talking and laughing, not even attempting to hide. “We do not want anyone seeing where we go. Let’s split up and meet at the storage room in five minutes.”

“All right.” Cloud stepped away, but Sephiroth’s voice stopped him.

“And Cloud? I know I’m already stretching the limits of your abilities with this task—” Cloud sputtered, twisting to look at Sephiroth incredulously, “—but  _ do  _ try not to be late.”

Sephiroth was gone in a burst of SOLDIER speed, startling Palmer and Heidegger. Cloud’s indignation faded in a wave of reluctant fondness and he shook his head, darting away in the opposite direction.

What a jerk.

Spending five minutes darting in and out of classrooms, dodging the others and moving silently was childishly easy. But it was better than sitting in a hard metal chair for hours, watching his life tick away second by crawling second. 

When his five minutes were up, he’d only had to dodge Scarlet’s cursory glance through an empty room before he made it back. He twisted the brass handle of the door and opened it slowly, in case the oils squeaked. They did, but it was much quieter with how gently he was doing it and he closed it just as slowly.

The door closed with a faint  _ click  _ and the last of his tension bled out of his shoulders.

“Cloud.” Sephiroth’s voice, right by his ear. And there was his tension.

Startled, Cloud jumped back a step, but encountered the door. The storage room was dark, and even with SOLDIER eyesight he could only barely make out Sephiroth’s general shape in the dark. But he could certainly feel him, a few inches away.

“Why—?”

“I didn’t factor in the size when I chose this as our rendezvous,” Sephiroth said. It was rare for him to admit any mistake.

“Oh.” Why was Cloud so uncomfortable? Sure, he didn’t like anyone in his personal space, but, as in all things, Sephiroth was different. Cloud was hyper-aware of the measly space between them, of his face and the expression he wore, he the rustles of his clothes as he shifted, trying futilely to create space where there was none. “Isn’t there a light?”

Cloud could  _ feel  _ Sephiroth’s condescendingly raised eyebrow. “It would defeat the purpose of hiding if we turned the light on, Cloud.”

Cloud really hated it when Sephiroth said his name. It always sounded different coming from him, like there was some hidden message he was just too dumb to hear. This time, however, the message was clear:  _ You’re an idiot.  _ Cloud grit his teeth and focused on being anywhere but here, in this situation.

“Something’s wrong.”

“What?” 

“With you,” Sephiroth never beat around the bush. “What is it?”

Cloud glared into the darkness at approximately Sephiroth’s eyeline. “I’m fine.”

“You seem distinctly uncomfortable.”

“That’s because I  _ am,  _ Sephiroth.”

“Why?”

Cloud wished he was back inside the classroom, ass going numb and eyes aching with the desire to close. He reached deep within to find patience.

“I just...we’re really close. Doesn’t that make  _ you  _ uncomfortable?”

“No,” Sephiroth said. No hesitation, firm. Cloud envied him the ability to know himself so readily. “I find that I always prefer being near you.”

Cloud felt as if Sephiroth had just punched all the air straight out of him. “Who  _ says  _ things like that?” Cloud’s words were a mutter, mostly to himself, and his face felt hot.

“You’re embarrassed.”

_ “Obviously.” _

“You shouldn’t be. There aren’t many whose company I enjoy.”

“Forgive me for not falling at your feet and thanking you for such an honor.”

A pause, then, “Do you always ramble when you’re embarrassed?”

“I don’t  _ ramble—” _

“You enjoy being near me as well. Even if you won’t admit it.”

“Bull—”

“Then why are you here, Cloud? Why come with me at all to a workplace seminar, an activity guaranteed to be uneventful and dull, if not because you’d rather be here, with me, than back at headquarters?”

Cloud’s mouth had dropped open, and now he struggled to close it, to find something to say.

“I—we’re  _ friends,  _ you asked me to come and I did because that’s what friends  _ do.” _

Sephiroth made a negative noise in the back of his throat. “Angeal wouldn’t have come. Or Zack. Genesis would have laughed in my face. Yet here you are.”

How had this conversation even gotten to this point? Cloud felt they were  _ way  _ off track.

“Look, Sephiroth—”

Suddenly Cloud was pressed against the door, the heat of Sephiroth’s body pressed against his from, the hard metal of the door cool on his back. The words died in his throat.

Sephiroth’s hand trailed up Cloud’s arm to cradle his cheek. His other hand snaked around Cloud’s waist and pressed him that much tighter and Cloud gasped quietly, involuntary, and his hands came up reflexively to grip the front of Sephiroth’s jacket. 

Long fingers crept higher and carded through his hair. He gripped the blond strands and tugged Cloud’s head to the side, where he trailed his lips, a hot point of contact that made Cloud shiver.

_ “Mm.”  _ Sephiroth’s voice was a deep, low hum.  _ “Now  _ you behave.”

Oh, God. Cloud struggled to find words. This was all happening so fast he felt like he was getting whiplash. And why  _ was  _ he just letting Sephiroth do what he wanted? If anyone else had tried to pull this crap, Cloud would have sent them flying, but Sephiroth…

Sephiroth, as in all things, he’s apparently still learning, is different.

“I—we—”

_ “Shh.”  _ Cloud falls obediently silent, eyes falling shut as he feels Sephiroth angle his face just so, can sense him leaning in closer— 

A hair-raising scream of pure terror shatters the moment and they both go stiff and still until it stops.

Then, they tear out of the closet and towards the scream the next moment, the inclination to run towards screams nearly instinctual for any SOLDIER.

The scream carried them down the hall and around the corner, where Scarlet stood at the beginning of a flight of stairs, eyes wide and horrified, shielding her mouth with perfectly manicured fingers.

Cloud followed her sight and his eyes widened.

Lying at the bottom of the stairs, neck at an impossible angle, was Hojo. Dead.

Shocked, Cloud could only stare. Then, he yanked his eyes away to Sephiroth, knowing that out of anyone here, he knew him best.

Sephiroth’s relationship with Professor Hojo was strange and confusing, and it showed on Sephiroth's face. Surprise was definitely there, but there was no grief, no devastation. Just a bit of confusion. He seemed...lost. Like his early death was a jagged piece that didn’t fit into the puzzle of his greater life plan. It simply didn’t compute.

The sounds of running footsteps met his eyes and the rest of the Board took in the body with varying degrees of shock, horror, and fear.

“He’s dead!”

“How in the hell—?”

“How did this happen?”

“I found him like this,” Scarlet said. Her voice was a bit unsteady, but it grew firmer with every word spoken. “I wasn’t even going to look over here since no one was supposed to use the stairs, but I figured no one gave two shits about the rules. So I checked and he was just...there, like that.”

There was a pause as everyone considered the broken body. 

“Must have fallen,” Palmer ventured. “Tripped down the stairs, took a nasty spill.”

“I don’t think we should rule out foul play just yet.” Reeve frowned, stepping a bit closer.

Heidegger waved his hand dismissively. “Sure, as the upper crust of Shin-Ra we’d be targeted, but why  _ him?  _ It doesn’t make sense. Not with the Head of Weapon’s Development and the damn army spitting distance away. Palmer’s right. He tripped. Poor bastard.”

Murmurs of agreement went up around them. 

Scarlet shook her head. “What a sad way to go.”

After that, the seminar was canceled. Everyone was required to stay long enough to give their statements to the local law enforcement. Cloud and Sephiroth gave theirs together, with Cloud largely following Sephiroth’s lead and nearly folding over in relief that he didn’t mention their near-kiss.

Since the body had been found, Sephiroth was stone-faced. Cloud couldn’t tell if he was mourning or simply contemplating mortality, so he left him to his thoughts.

When they finally arrived back at Shin-Ra headquarters, the mood was subdued. Everyone parted ways wordlessly, but when Cloud made to go to his quarters, a sudden grip around his wrist stopped him. 

Sephiroth, for the first time, seemed unsure.

“Would you...I would like it if you accompanied me to my quarters instead.”

Cloud’s expression softened. “Sure.”

They rode the elevator in companionable silence up to Sephiroth’s floor. The silence endured until they were both seated on Sephiroth’s ridiculously large leather couch. Cloud looked at Sephiroth’s profile, taking in the calm that surely masked the storm beneath the surface.

“You okay?”

Sephiroth just seemed to deflate. His shoulders hung as well as his head as he hunched forward, bracing his elbows on his knees with his fingers loosely threaded. A long curtain of silver hair shielded his face from view.

“I don’t know what I am. Or what I should be feeling. He was...the closest thing I had to a father. And now he’s gone.”

They both contemplated that for a moment. Cloud noticed Sephiroth’s hand, the one nearest him, twitch strangely before Sephiroth mastered himself and stilled the motion. He raised his head, looking sightlessly across the room.

“I  _ should  _ be sad. At least upset. But I feel...nothing. Vaguely relieved.” That same strange twitch, quickly quelled.

“Sephiroth…” Cloud struggled to find the right words. He wasn’t known for his impassioned speeches. “I’m not going to pretend to understand the relationship you had with him but mourning something that was never there...you don’t have to do that. No one expects you too. It doesn’t make you a bad person.”

Sephiroth was looking straight at him when Cloud glanced his way. They shared a moment of simply looking at one another before Sephiroth’s lips twitched into the barest smile.

“Thank you, Cloud.” His hand twitched once more and after a moment of frowning, it dawned on Cloud and a rush of fondness nearly choked him.

“You can...touch me if you want, Sephiroth. You weren’t this shy before.”

“It was easier in the dark.” Nonetheless, Sephiroth took the permission as gospel and scooped Cloud up in his arms, pulling him into his lap. He held him close and rested his chin on Cloud’s head. 

Cloud’s face was burning but he surrendered to the hold, a pleased smile threatening his lips as he listened to Sephiroth’s heart beat.

“This is so embarrassing,” he said quietly. Sephiroth chuckled.

* * *

  
  


The door had just shut behind him when there was a knock. Eyebrow raised, Cloud turned and answered it, surprised to see  _ Reeve Tuesti  _ of all people at the door. 

“Cloud. Good to see you. Would you mind if I come in for a moment.”

Cloud couldn’t exactly say no. Reeve was, indirectly, his boss. He took a step back and swung the door open wide.

“Sure.”

“Thank you.” Reeve too a few steps in, hands nonchalantly tucked into his pockets. His dark eyes darted around, taking in the empty spaces and half-packed boxes. “Moving? Ah, yes, now I recall. Living together is the next big step in any relationship.”

Cloud couldn’t even bother being surprised Reeve knew about his relationship with Sephiroth. Rumors and gossip spread like wildfire in this company.

Still, to speak of it so casually to someone who was a near-perfect stranger made Cloud shift uncomfortably. “Yeah, I guess.”

Reeve gave Cloud a direct sort of look. “The truth is Cloud, as I’m sure you’ve guessed, I’m not here for a mere visit. I have some questions involving the incident a month ago.”

Cloud knew instantly what he meant. Hojo’s death a month earlier at the seminar. While the local law enforcement had declared it a simple, if not tragic accident, Cloud had no doubt the Turks were still doing their own investigation, exhausting all possible leads to ensure there wasn’t a mole within the company.

“What sort of questions? I gave my statement a while ago.”

“Yes, and I read it. Not very illuminating, however.” Reeve paced a few steps away, absently trailing a hand on the wall as he walked by. He sighed very quietly, then turned to face Cloud, his dark eyes hard and cool.

“I think you’re a man who appreciates a more direct approach, so I will simply ask: Why did you do it?”

A deathly quietly stretched between them. Neither blinked nor looked away, trying to see if the other would break first. After a small eternity, Reeve shrugged. 

“In all honesty, I didn’t suspect you until I’d caught wind of your relationship. Then everything came together. That fall never sat right with me. I knew there had to be something bigger at play.”

When Cloud continued to simply watch him, face smooth and emotionless as granite, Reeve gestured dismissively. 

“I’m not wired and I haven’t smuggled any recording devices here or on my person. No one wants to bring up a black mark on Shin-Ra’s public record now that it’s been so neatly tucked away.”

“I know you haven’t.” Small and faint as it would have been, Cloud still would have heard it. “Why are you here?”

“Because I want to know.” Reeve said simply. “I want to  _ understand.  _ And if Shin-Ra has a SOLDIER-enhanced murderer running around, I want to be able to protect those I care about.”

“Noble of you.”

Reeve shrugged. “If I were noble, I’d see you locked up. But this place has a way of teaching you to only fight the battles you can win.” His eyes were bleak and it was enough to move Cloud to speak.

“What...did you know of Hojo’s work?”

“He created the SOLDIER’s. The science department is responsible for the mako enhancements and they monitor SOLDIERs for any signs of deficiency caused by their treatments.”

Cloud nodded. “And what about his other projects?”

“Like the animal testing?”

“The human testing.”

Reeve’s eyes widened. “That can’t be true—”

“It is. Just ask Sephiroth.” Cloud swallowed, sickened by the things he’d learned and almost wished he didn’t know. “I made a friend within the Turks. And I won’t tell you who, so don’t even ask.

“We’d all heard the rumors of the monsters Hojo bred in his lab, the ones that he supposedly left all over the city to keep the army employed. So, I was curious. I asked to see if it was true. I was just bored. We were passing the time on a slow day. So, they hacked into the archives. We found hundreds of hours of footage.

“There were so many applicants whose bodies rejected the mako treatment. And Hojo had his pick of them all. Some he kept in a coma, other’s he kept conscious.” Cloud had to take a deep, calming breath. “So many men, mutated beyond recognition, and their families never to find out what happened to their fathers, their brothers, their sons. And  _ Sephiroth.” _

It was a long moment before Cloud could speak without his voice trembling with rage. His heart beat angrily in his chest, aching as it did every day since he’d seen the videos.

“He’s been a test subject since before he was  _ born. _ Hojo has cut him up just to see how long he screamed since he was a  _ child.  _ The way he was treated, how he had to live before one of his assistants insisted Sephiroth got a  _ bed—” _

The silence was heavy this time around. Reeve looked completely blindsided. This new information certainly couldn’t fit his psychopathic murdering SOLDIER storyline. 

“It really was an accident.” Admitting it was cathartic, but not nearly as much as the rest of his statement. “I was moving too fast for him to see, and I saw him as I passed by. I pushed him, just because I thought it would be a little funny and it was the only chance I’d get to do  _ something.  _ I didn’t see the stairs.”

Cloud crossed his arms, contemplating the carpet. “So, yes. I did it.” Cloud looked up, his eyes as chilly as a winter snowstorm on Mount Nibel. Reeve shivered when he saw them, as if he could feel the biting snow. 

“But I don’t regret it.”


End file.
